Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc. - Closing the Gap
MEDIA RELEASE: Government response to suicide miss-placed
23rd May 21017
The current debate about high levels of suicide in New Zealand misses the point says Peter Malcolm, National Secretary
of Income Inequality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc—Closing the Gap.
“There are clear links between inequality, poverty and general deprivation to suicide and the connection is obviously
stress” he says.
Wilkinson and Pickett in The Spirit Level show the association between suicide and inequality and there is a clear
connection between mental distress and social disadvantage, with children from resource-poor backgrounds 2 to 3 times
more likely to experience mental unwellness. Further, self harm and suicide are more likely in children who experience
poverty.
Recent data from the Youth 2000 study for example, analysed by Simon Denny and colleagues, found that young people who grew up in poor
families living in wealthier neighbourhoods had poorer mental health than those poor children who grew up in poor
neighbourhoods. Feeling poor, and be constantly exposed to the negative views that many people in New Zealand hold about
low income families, is hardly an environment that would help a young person develop a sense of self confidence
There are currently between 5,000-14,000 children (those up to 14 years old) and a staggering 43,000 – 64,000 young
adults experience depression in New Zealand each year (this is formally diagnosed).
It is clear that our mental health system is overwhelmed. Children’s mental wellbeing is about income, wealth and
deprivation. Targeting children who are already mentally unwell is insufficient.
Quentin Abraham, president of the New Zealand Psychological Society says that, “If we want to improve the mental health of children then we must end poverty”
Clearly, some of the major underlying causes of suicide are poverty and inequality
If we want to make a serious difference in our appalling suicide rate, particularly among young people, we need a huge
input into our mental health services, a clear policy from Government to reduce child poverty, and a major effort from
Government to reduce inequality, Malcolm concludes.